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Welcome to Haven
"Welcome to Haven" is the premier episode of Haven. Synopsis Teaser FBI Agent Audrey Parker receives a visit from her superior, Agent Howard, to discuss her most recently closed case. Howard then assigns Parker to investigate the escape of federal prisoner Jonas Lester, who has fled to the small town of Haven in Maine. In Haven, Lester chases an unknown victim along Tuwiuwok Bluff with a gun, but is disarmed and thrown from the cliff by a telekinetic gust of wind. A man watches Lester fall from the cliff. Act One Agent Parker arrives in Haven and nearly drives her rented Ford Taurus off a roadside cliff when the asphalt collapses across the middle of the street. She is rescued from the vehicle by Haven Detective Nathan Wournos before the car plundges into the water, and the two head to the beach where Lester's body was found. Parker finds a scrap of paper on the body, then proceeds to search Tuwiuwok Bluff with Wournos. There she finds a revolver, while Wournos finds a fedora, which Nathan identifies as belonging to a local handiman. Parker and Wournos head into Haven to interview Conrad Brauer, who claims to have been clam-digging the night that Lester died. When Parker tries to enter an antiques store to talk to the owner, a thick fog rapidly descends on the town, allowing Brauer to flee. Wournos is nearly run down by a truck in the fog, but Parker tackles him to safety. Act Two Wournos is treated by Eleanor, an EMT, and sent to the hospital for an MRI. Parker is approached by Vince and Dave Teagues, the co-editors of the Haven Herald, about Lester's death, but she tells them she'll call them later. Wournos, having snuck out of the ambulance, returns, and he and Parker visit an antiques store to talk to Marion Caldwell, who confirms Brauer's alibi, insisting that he's not involved. They also meet Caldwell's friend Ted Ford, who mentions that he and Caldwell are considering moving to Santa Barbara, California to open a store. Wournos receives a call, and he and Parker head to the Cape Rouge to interview Duke Crocker, the owner of the revolver that Parker found, but Crocker isn't on the boat. Later that night, Brauer returns to Caldwell's shop and learns that the police returned to look for him. Caldwell admits to being scared about the incident with Lester, and Brauer confesses that he is as well. Soon after, a vicious hailstorm kicks up, during which Parker takes cover on the dock near the Cape Rouge until lightning strikes a transformer, knocking her unconscious and throwing her into the water. Act Three Parker wakes the next morning in the bedroom of the Cape Rouge and ventures outside to find Duke Crocker, who returns her clothes and makes her coffee. They discuss Crocker's gun, which he informs her was stolen and that he had reported it as such. At the Haven Police Department, Parker rebukes Wournos for not telling her that Crocker had reported the revolver stolen, and learns that the paper she found on Lester's body had the numerals "25789" written on it. Wournos leaves to find Crocker, and Parker realizes that Brauer's alibi does not hold up. Parker returns to Caldwell's antiques store to confront Brauer and Caldwell, and is thrown back against her car by a telekinetic gust of wind before snow begins to fall. Brauer confesses to killing Lester, insisting that it was an accident. Act Four Parker arrests Brauer and returns with him to the Haven Police Department, where she finds that Wournos has also arrested Crocker. Wournos processes Brauer, and Crocker admits to Parker that Lester had approached him when he reached Haven and asked Crocker to run him up to Canada, but that he refused. Parker asks after the numbers on the scrap of paper, and Wournos deduces that they are the registration number of another boat that Lester found. At Caldwell's store, Ford presents Marion with a key to a store in Santa Barbara, claiming that they only need to make a down-payment to finalize the deal. Caldwell gives Ford access to her bank accounts to make the deposit. At the police station, Parker is visited by the Teagues, who bring her a photograph that includes a woman who greatly resembles Agent Parker. Wournos tracks the number to a boat called The Helen Ann Thomas which Lester obtained, and finds financial paperwork on-board pertaining to Marion Caldwell's $2-million inheritance. Parker and the Teagues search the Herald archives and find an article about Harold Hastings, who moved to Haven after freakish weather destroyed his home town in Georgia, and whose granddaughter is Marion Caldwell. Wournos calls Parker from the dock, and the two realize that Lester returned to Haven to steal Marion's money; Parker theorizes that Brauer confessed in order to protect Marion, and Wournos theorizes that Lester acquired Caldwell's information from a partner: Ted Ford. Parker calls Caldwell to inform her of Lester's plan and Ford's complicity, and Caldwell checks her bank accounts online to discover a $2-million wire transfer. Caldwell storms out of the store as a lightning storm gathers outside. Act Five Parker calls Wournos to update him, and rushes out of the police station to find Caldwell, following the storm clouds to her location. Caldwell arrives at Ford's house to confront him, and finds him packing his Volvo and preparing to leave. He lies about going on a business trip, and the storm around them intensifies as Caldwell flies into a rage. Ford pulls a gun on Caldwell, but a telekinetic gust of wind rips it out of his hand. Parker arrives on the scene and attempts to calm Caldwell, and Wournos arrives soon after. Ford lunges for his gun and shoots Wournos through the shoulder, but Wournos tackles Ford and arrests him as Parker tries to pacify Caldwell. She explains that the freakish weather is a result of Caldwell's fury, and pleads with Marion to make it stop. Caldwell removes the key that Ford gave her from her pocket and breaks down crying as the storm around them dissipates. Later, Caldwell drives Brauer out to a beach where Caldwell is waiting, and advises him to pursue his feelings for her in order to keep her safe and calm so that her latent abilities won't hurt anyone else. Brauer approaches Caldwell, and the two hold hands on the beach. Parker returns to the police station to find Wournos recovering from his gunshot wound, and the two discuss the details of Lester's arrangement with Ford. Wournos remains skeptical of Parker's theory that Caldwell affects the weather, suggesting that there may be several other possible explanations. Nathan reveals that his father was a beat cop on the Colorado Kid murder, and comments on the similarities between Parker and the woman in the photo. Parker admits that, growing up, she dreamed that her mother would one day arrive at the orphange in a bus and take her and all the other abandoned children home. Wournos suggests she may have to let go of that particular dream. That evening, Parker visits the site of the Colorado Kid murder, and calls Agent Howard to inform him that she'll be taking a few weeks of vacation time to stay in Haven. Howard, unbeknownst to Parker, is watching her from across the water. When he hangs up, he immediately places another call to an unidentified individual, telling the person that Parker is "staying," suggesting that "maybe she could help you with your troubles." He then hangs up and drives away as the asphalt collapses down the length of the street behind him. Reception Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly called the episode "whimsical, like the show it preceded, Eureka," citing that it lacked "the gritty or bleak-humor Stephen King style to be found in most of his work." Tucker also wrote, however: "I'm going to give it time. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad – I want to watch how Haven complicates itself" (1). Sam McPherson of TV OverMind rated the episode a C, calling Parker's character "an ultimately forgettable FBI agent who apparently wishes she was Fox Mulder," and criticizing the decision to make the character "incredibly eager to accept the unbelievable." McPherson also wrote that the show seems like "a mix of The X-Files, Eureka, and Heroes" without "the same magic that any of those shows had in their early seasons" (2). Mike Hale of The New York Times also compared the series to "its Syfy stablemates" Eureka and Warehouse 13 (as well as to The Mentalist, NCIS, Fringe and Memphis Beat), citing in particular the character of Parker's "wise black boss who...knows more about her situation...than she does." Hale also wrote that the episode employed "a cozy, lived-in mystery with some quirky characters in a pleasant setting," while suffering from "spotty writing and perfunctory camerawork" (3). Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times also compared the series to Eureka and Warehouse 13 (by way of The X-Files), as well as to the short-lived ABC series Happy Town, citing that the episode succeeded in its aims "to scare you a little, and to amuse you a little more." Lloyd also wrote that viewers "looking for another creepy municipal drama filmed in Canada may find this a port in the storm," pointing out that Haven is "all right; it's not bad" (4). Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe (which, incidentally, got a mention in the novel calls the series "a bad thing, a third-rate summer series" and "the TV equivalent of a $3 Halloween mask." Gilbert also wrote that "by the time Audrey falls off a pier and wakes up undressed in the bed of town badboy Duke Crocker...you probably won’t care" because "the characters are so shallow, it’s hard to invest interest in them." He did, however, point out that the most enjoyable part of the episode "was the setting, which evokes Maine even while the show was filmed in Nova Scotia" (5). Matt Roush of TV Guide called Haven "a dreary example of a channel so in love with its own success that it dips from the well of sameness once too often. It's Eureka without inspiration, minus the 'wow' factor." Roush also accused the series of being "a by-the-numbers dud" that is "derivative at best and dispiriting at worst" (6). Quotes *Audrey: FBI! Who are you? Nathan: Haven PD. Who are you? Audrey: F-B-I. Are you deaf? Cast * Emily Rose as Audrey Parker * Lucas Bryant as Nathan Wournos * Nicholas Campbell as Chief Wournos * Eric Balfour as Duke Crocker * Richard Donat as Vince Teagues * John Dunsworth as Dave Teagues * Nicole De Boer as Marion Caldwell * Patrick Garrow as Conrad Brauer * Maurice Dean Wint as Agent Howard * Mary-Colin Chisholm as Eleanor External Link It is currently available for viewing on hulu. Watch the Episode on YouTube Category:Season 1 Category:Episodes